<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>Carmen Sandiego - The Final Caper by Nach0</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23285308">Carmen Sandiego - The Final Caper</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nach0/pseuds/Nach0'>Nach0</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Carmen Sandiego (Cartoon 2019)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Attempted Suicide, Carmen is not ok, Carulia, Eventually very gay, Gen, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, References to Depression, kinda gay</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-03-23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-01 10:26:49</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>20,961</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23285308</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nach0/pseuds/Nach0</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>This is an alternate universe that takes place after the events of season two. In this Carmen's mental health takes a turn for the worst.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Julia "Jules" Argent/Carmen Sandiego | Black Sheep</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>158</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Chapter 1 is written from Jules's point of view</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"Now remember Agent Argent, our mission is to capture Carmen Sandiego. You cannot let her get away again."</p>
<p>Chief looked at me with a stern expression. Whatever reservations I had about taking in Carmen I have to put aside.</p>
<p>"I won't let you down chief."</p>
<p>She nodded and the hologram dissipated, the pen clattering to the floor. Agent Zari turned to me.</p>
<p>"We'll alternate between floors, I'll take odd, you take even."</p>
<p>We both turned to the large parking lot behind us. The 20-floor giant was surprisingly empty, with only a small handful of cars spread throughout. One of which was a rental which was paid for with an account that was flagged as belonging to the crimson thief. We nodded to each other and entered the building.</p>
<p>We scaled through the floors, one by one, checking the lots. I moved quicker than my partner, and quickly made it to the top floor. As I was about to burst through the door, I heard the ending of a conversation.</p>
<p>"Player I'm about to set off an EMP, if you don't hear from me in two hours tell Ivy to check under my pillow. There will be 4 letters, addressed to each of the crew. Wait another half hour then open them."</p>
<p>There was a brief pause, presumably for this "Player" to respond. Carmen let out a sigh.</p>
<p>"I'm fine Player. Goodbye."</p>
<p>There was a loud beeping noise, followed by loud static in my ear. I ran onto the rooftop, knowing that she may make her escape at any time.</p>
<p>"Take another step and I jump."</p>
<p>The voice made me stop. It was the voice of Carmen Sandiego, but different somehow? Her, but sadder, more resigned.</p>
<p>"I cannot let you escape this time. Not after how you betrayed ACME."</p>
<p>I wanted her to say something, anything, that would prove her innocent.</p>
<p>"Then I wouldn't recommend coming closer. Jules."</p>
<p>The way she said my name, like she was taunting me.</p>
<p>"And I would lock that door if I were you. I don't think your partner would have the same sense that you do."</p>
<p>I wanted to keep her talking so I complied with her request.</p>
<p>"If I stay back here, will you at least answer my questions before you glide away?"</p>
<p>She smirked and turned her back, showing her hoodie.</p>
<p>"No glider today. In fact, no gadgets at all. Only a pen and some paper."</p>
<p>She gestured to a pile of gadgets off to the side, right next to the van we were tracking.</p>
<p>"You can have them if you want, I won't be needing them anymore."</p>
<p>I started to think. Was this some elaborate trap? Why would she try to escape with nothing on her? Then it clicked.</p>
<p>"But why would you do that? You have so much to live for!"</p>
<p>She smirked and sat on the edge and gestured for me to sit as well.</p>
<p>"It's been a rough few weeks Jules. I know some things that I'd rather not and now don't know who to trust."</p>
<p>After some egging, I learned all about the elusive Carmen Sandiego, how she got her name, and finally, what drove her to this point. Agent Zari had left to call Chief maybe 20 minutes ago and I could hear the sounds of helicopters in the distance. She could too and as she turned back towards the edge, I knew I had to think fast. I started moving silently towards her as she was distracted.</p>
<p>"You're lucky Jules. You got to be the last person to talk to the elusive Carmen Sandiego. Sorry you didn't get to catch me."</p>
<p>She turned her head to look at me and her eyes widened as she saw how close I was. She tried to get off the edge, but I managed to grab her hoodie and pull her back. As she started to struggle, I sprayed her with the ACME issue knockout gas, whispering two words as she fell asleep.</p>
<p>"I'm sorry."</p>
<p>This is my first story so any advice is welcome!</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2 - The Hospital</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Chapter 2 is from Carmen's point of view</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>As I came to the first thing I did was try to get a sense of my surroundings. My vision was still a little hazy so I relied on touch. I wasn't in a cell so that was at least that was something. I tried to get up a little to view my surroundings when I noticed I was strapped down. As I slowly regained hearing, I heard a familiar voice.</p>
<p>"Well done Agent Argent. You managed to secure Carmen Sandiego. Didn't think you had it in you."</p>
<p>That was the voice of Chief. But why was she here? Why was Jules here?</p>
<p>"She needs serious medical attention. She wasn't in her right mind on that rooftop."</p>
<p>Then it came flooding back. The rooftop. Telling my life story. Her grabbing my hoodie. I really should have worn something else. Something without a large, grabbable fold of fabric on the back.</p>
<p>"She's a professional thief Agent. From what you told me she was raised by thieves. I doubt she was ever in her right mind. We have her now for questioning and then we can deal with any mental issues she is bound to have."</p>
<p>Great. I trust someone and they spill the beans. I can't think about it now, my prime objective must be to escape. Trying to wiggle out of the restraints would attract too much attention. As I search for my tools I remember throwing them off to the side. Not that they would have left me them anyway. They probably had all the time in the world to search me once I was unconscious.</p>
<p>"We have put her in a bed and made sure there are no sharp objects anywhere in reach. We will conduct a psych exam after we have interrogated her. Then she will be turned over to the police. That is above and beyond what protocol dictates we do, at your request. You are an impeccable agent Argent, don't let this one person bring you down."</p>
<p>I'm being turned into the police? At least they'll be easy to escape from. At this point the crew will have read their letters and presume that I'm gone. Maybe I should stay that way.</p>
<p>"I would like to request permission to be in charge of supervising Carmen Sandiego's interrogation and holding while she is at ACME."</p>
<p>"Are you sure Argent? This means that if she escapes you will be held responsible."</p>
<p>"It also means I will be able to ensure she gets proper care."</p>
<p>I can hear Chief let out a loud sigh.</p>
<p>"Very well. Do not let me down."</p>
<p>There is a click and the pen clatters to the floor.</p>
<p>"You can stop pretending to be unconscious now, she disconnected."</p>
<p>She knew I was awake? I'm getting sloppy.</p>
<p>"So you're in charge of me now? Figures. Didn't think you were the bragging type, but there's a lot I don't know about people. People I thought I could trust."</p>
<p>She reeled at the dirty look I gave her but at this point I don't care. I was done caring a week ago.</p>
<p>"I do want to help you Miss Sandiego, whether you think I do or not."</p>
<p>Noticing me struggling she continued.</p>
<p>"Those are to protect you. We are not VILE and we do care about the people we have sworn to protect."</p>
<p>I started to scoff but then thought of a possible escape. One way or another.</p>
<p>"How will these protect me from the VILE agents that will no doubt be sent after me?If I can't move I can't fight back."</p>
<p>I knew she wasn't buying it but anything is worth a shot.</p>
<p>"Those restraints, as you very well know, are to stop you from hurting yourself. The things you told me on that roof, they would break anyone. But I know you and I know that with proper help you can recover from this."</p>
<p>Her words touched me, even if I would never admit it, to her or myself.</p>
<p>"I'll be back, we have to arrange transport to an ACME facility."</p>
<p>She smiled and went to leave the room. She turned back one last time before she left.</p>
<p>"You're in good hands now, even if you don't see it yet."</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3 - ACME</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Chapter 3 has the POV of Jules</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>I strode down the hallways of ACME talking to another agent, who was keeping pace and taking notes of everything I said. This higher clearance from Chief really was useful.<br/>“Make sure she is in a cell under constant surveillance. Assign a rotating group of agents to be monitoring the cameras.”<br/>The agent nodded and turned away, tapping furiously on her tablet. I continued on my path, making a many turns in the back of the facility. Finally, I came to the holding cell. A temporary one, but it would have to do. Inside was Carmen Sandiego, tied to a chair, looking down and defeated. When she saw who I was she turned away and shut her eyes.<br/>“Come to gloat, have you? Remind me of how you betrayed my trust when I was feeling the lowest in my life? It’s my own fault really. After Stockholm I should have known better than to trust you.”<br/>Her words hurt, even more so for the fact that she wouldn’t even look at me. Decided to try to push past this I began to tell her what was going on.<br/>“I am sorry about this temporary holding cell; we are working to find a suitable cell for you and your needs.”<br/>As soon as I said this, I wanted to kick myself. I was trying to be careful to build up trust and I just insulted her to her face! She finally looked up at me. I can see the utter hopelessness she was feeling as soon as we made eye contact. <br/>“Why would you care about my needs agent? You’re just going to interrogate me and through me to the police. At this point I don’t care. Do whatever the hell you want.”<br/>My communicator pen started beeping, signalling an incoming transmission from Chief.<br/>“Please excuse me for a moment.”<br/>She said nothing and turned away again. I left the room and threw the pen onto the floor.<br/>“Agent Argent what is the progress of the interrogation? I need to know what she needed with our servers, and who she may have shared this information with.”<br/>Chief looked at my face, showing all my worries, and sighed.<br/>“You haven’t started interrogating her yet, have you?”<br/>I know that this case would either make or break my career at ACME, meaning I cannot get taken off.<br/>“I was about to start, I just… wanted to check up on her first, that’s all.”<br/>I knew I had said something wrong as Chief looked at me with an expression of… was that pity?<br/>“I’m coming. Hold tight and do not make contact again until I get there.”<br/>Was she taking me off the case? Why couldn’t I make contact with Carmen?<br/>“You’re not being taken off the case if that’s what you’re worried about. But I am worried about how you seem to be taking Carmen’s words to heart.”<br/>She knelt down and put her hand on my shoulder. The hologram phased through slightly, sending a jolt of electricity through my arm.<br/>“I know you care about her, but she isn’t well. Don’t take anything to heart. We will help her, but we must get the information first. Do you understand?”<br/>I nodded and Chief stood back up.<br/>“I will be there in half an hour. Do not talk to her until I get there.”<br/>With that the pen fell to the floor, lifeless. <br/>I waited in that room for the 30 minutes, thinking of the best way to help Carmen. After coming up with a carful plan, I stood up and walked out with Chief.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Thanks for reading! Any feedback is welcome</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter 4 - Red Base</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Player's POV</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>2 hours have passed. Radio silence. I didn’t want to keep my promise. I wanted to keep waiting for her to get back, for her to walk in the door. But I couldn’t. <br/>“Hey guys?”<br/>When my voice went over the intercom everyone looked up. They were so relaxed, so carefree. It was Ivy who spoke first.<br/>“Hey Player, what’s up? Is Carm back from the mission yet?”<br/>I hated to do this to them, but there was no choice.<br/>“She’s not on coms. She gave me a message to relay if she wasn’t back by now.”<br/>Everyone’s expressions turned to one of worry. I played the recording back to them because I couldn’t bear to say it myself. Shadowsan was the first to get up, but Zack and Ivy were closer. They went into her room and very carefully lifted up her pillow. I was watching from the surveillance cameras, and saw two large envelopes, one smaller envelope, and finally a small, folded up piece of paper. Zack and Ivy each got one of the large envelopes, and Shadowsan the smaller. Ivy picked up the other paper and turned it over.<br/>“Player this one is for you. On the back it says that this is what that password was for, if that makes any sense to you.”<br/>I racked my brain. Password, password, what password did she mean? Finally, he got it.<br/>“Is there an email address on the inside?”<br/>Ivy unfolded the note with shaking hands.<br/>“Yeah there is. I’ll send it to you give me a minute.”<br/>It was Zack who spoke next. He had been quiet ever since I came on the intercom.<br/>“We have to wait, don’t we? She said wait another half hour before opening them. Maybe she’s just… finishing up.”<br/>We all wanted to wait. We wanted her to open the door, or come back online. The EMP would have worn off by now, maybe the communicator was on the fritz? We all nodded a silent agreement. Even though they couldn’t see me, they knew I was on board.</p><p>We all waited quietly. It had been 10 minutes and still no sign. Then Shadowsan spoke up.<br/>“Player, are you still online?”<br/>I made a sort of grunt that indicated I was.<br/>“Can you get the security feed from her last known location? Maybe we could use that to get an idea of what happened.”<br/>With new energy I started typing away, tracking her to the parking garage and watching from a camera across the street.<br/>“Ok I found it! I’ll watch to see if I can get some idea of what went down. There’s no audio, but the visual is still pretty good.”<br/>Everyone went back to waiting, but with hope this time. I started watching the footage and saw the ACME agent come up behind her. I thought that would be it, but something Carmen said made her stop dead in her tracks. She locked the door and sat down. I sped up the next bit of footage, as it was mostly talking. The agent wasn’t saying much, mostly just Carmen. As I was nearing the end of over an hour of footage, I slowed it down. I could see a helicopter in the distance, and both of them could hear it. The agent started to sneak up behind Carmen and she was too distracted to notice. When she did turn it was too late. I watched with horror as I saw what happened next. Carmen actively tried to jump off the ledge before the agent grabbed her. With one spray of whatever was in those ACME weapons, Red was asleep.</p><p>I knew that the others had to see this. When I went back on coms, they all looked up, waiting for my news.<br/>“Guys I found what happened to her. I can’t explain it, only show it. I’ve skipped most of the middle as they just talk, but here’s the beginning and end.”<br/>When the agent – Jules I think? came outside, there where a lot of horrified looks, but at the end, when Carmen tried to ‘escape’ Ivy looked like she was about to throw the computer across the room. Zack could sense his sisters rage and tried to calm her down.<br/>“We know who took her, that’s something right? We can try and track her to rescue her and…”<br/>At this point Ivy could no longer hold in her rage.<br/>“How do you know she even wants to come home! You saw the video! I bet if that agent didn’t come when she did Carm would have been gone long before! At least at ACME she’ll be safe! Speaking of we don’t even know where to start looking for this SECRET organisation!”<br/>Everyone started backing away as she continued her rant, Shadowsan retreating to his room. Zack put his hand on Ivy’s shoulder.<br/>“Let’s just read the letters. We can sort out a plan from there.”<br/>Ivy calmed down and fell into her brothers’ arms, sobbing.<br/>I turned off the camera and went to read my letter.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Thanks for reading! Let me know if you want me to publish any letters, I thought the chapter was long enough.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Chapter 5 - The Interrogation</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Carmen's POV</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>A different agent led me to the interrogation room. I didn’t bother putting up a fight, even if I did manage to get away from her, there was still a whole building of specially trained agents to get past. I sat down at the table and waited while she cuffed me to it. I could tell she was surprised; I could hear the agents talking about me and my capers when they walk by my cell. The great Carmen Sandiego, now docile as a lamb. I lost my train of thought as Jules, no, Agent Argent, I corrected myself, followed my… Chief? Not a hologram, but Chief in the flesh. Figures. Everyone wants to take a look; everyone wants to gloat. <br/>“Carmen Sandiego. Never thought I’d see the day where you were in ACME custody.”<br/>I didn’t want to give her any satisfaction, so I just glared. Agent Argent sat opposite me, while Chief remained standing, despite there being two chairs.<br/>“Fine. If you don’t want to chit-chat, I’ll cut to the chase. I need to know why you hacked our database, and who you shared whatever you took with.”<br/>I sat up a little straighter. She didn’t know? It could be a trick, so I have to play it careful. I might have given up on me, but I have to keep the others safe.<br/>“You mean your agent over there didn’t tell you? Surprising, I thought she told you everything that I confided in her, trusting her to keep secret.”<br/>I can see the agent flinching at this. Part of me feels bad, and I think it showed on my face. I was quick to chase that away, but they both saw it.<br/>“As much as you think everyone is going to betray you, Agent Argent only told me the bare minimum required for a mission report. Now I recommend you answer, without the snide remarks this time.”<br/>This surprised me, but this time I didn’t let it show. But fine. She wants answers? She’ll get answers.<br/>“You really want to know why I hacked your server? Fine. You won’t like the answer. Murderer.”<br/>Chief face twisted into one of rage. Argent just sat sadly, shaking her head slowly. <br/>“It’s how you got to be chief of this place. By shooting a man who was surrendering. By killing Dexter Wolfe. By robbing a young baby of a chance to grow up.”<br/>I wasn’t going to mention how Shadowsan was there to do the same job. I wanted to make her feel as bad as I did. I can see her trying to think of a way to prove me wrong, to be able to deny it.<br/>“There was no-one else in the house that night. If you really were there, how did you get to VILE?”<br/>There it was. Trying to deny it.<br/>“How would you know if there was anyone else? The house set on fire before you could investigate. A VILE agent sent to check on my dad found me and took me back. That’s why we hacked your system. We needed to confirm that our info was right. And it was.”<br/>I could see Chief getting madder and madder, until suddenly, her face went calm.<br/>“Agent Argent continue this interrogation. I have something I need to attend to.”<br/>As Chief walked out, I smirked. They want to know what I’m thinking? Then I won’t hold back.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Sorry this chapter is a little late, I was having writers block. Let me know your thoughts on this one, I wasn't as happy with it as my others.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Chapter 6 - The Search</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Players POV</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>I’m sitting in my room, typing furiously. I’m trying to find anything in the police databases that has a name or face match, showing where she may have been transported to. I doubt ACME would keep her for long, as they would just need information. I let out a groan as my search comes back empty again. Ivy and Zack are going over ways to get Carmen back if she’s still stuck at ACME.<br/>“What if one of us dresses up like an ACME agent and tries to make a trade? Like I’ll pretend to kidnap you, an ACME agent, and then arrange a meetup where we can get Carmen!”<br/>I can hear Ivy’s groan.<br/>“And what happens when they realise I’m not an ACME agent? They probably wouldn’t even bring Carmen, just show up to arrest us!”<br/>I turn off the coms as they start bickering again. I go back to looking for security footage to show where they might have gone, and look for a way in. It’s just passed midnight here, while it’s still only 9pm for the twins. I let out a yawn and drink some more coffee. I’ve brought a kettle up to my room so I can stay awake while searching. Just as I put my mug down I hear a noise from outside my room. I’m instantly on high alert, and switch my monitors off. The mumbled whispers from outside stop and I hear a knock on the door. I relax a little. No thief or VILE operative would knock. I climb back in bed to give off the appearance of sleep until my mum calls out.<br/>“We know you’re awake honey, please open the door.”<br/>I get out of bed and open the door. Both of my parents are standing there, looking nervous.<br/>“What are you guys doing? It’s the middle of the night and I was trying to sleep.”<br/>I keep trying to maintain innocence, knowing that I can’t tell my parents what I’m really up to.<br/>“Son we know you’ve been on that computer of yours all night. We’re worried about you. Can we come and sit down please?”<br/>I open the door wider and they come in to sit on my bed. I go to sit in my chair, trying to block the VILE hard drive. <br/>“We’ve been worried honey, you haven’t been eating or sleeping, you never come out of your room other than to use the bathroom, and we can hear you’ve been crying through the walls. Please, tell us what’s going on.”<br/>I can’t tell them the truth; it would only put them in danger. Not the whole truth at least. I sum up all my courage and come up with something to tell them.<br/>“My friend has gone missing and I’m trying to help find her. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner, but I’ve been so stressed out that I can’t think properly. I’m sorry.”<br/>It’s only part of the truth but it’s better than nothing. My mum walks over and gives me a big hug.<br/>“Honey I get you’re worried but please, leave it to the police. It shouldn’t be the job of a teenager to solve the worlds problems. Now please, come to bed. We can talk more in the morning, ok?”<br/>My dad comes and joins her but doesn’t say anything.<br/>I agree with her, but at that point my mind is made up. Both of my parents leave, muttering in low voices as they go back to their room. I shut and lock my door and turn my computer back on. I think for a moment and start typing I go through the motions of a caper. Book a hotel and flights, organise transportation, and finally, send Team Red a message.<br/>“I’m coming.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Sorry I forgot to upload this earlier. I wrote it at like 10pm last night when I couldn't sleep</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Chapter 7 - One Month Later</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>This changes between POVs</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>(Jules’s POV)<br/>Carmen Sandiego has been a prisoner of ACME for about a month now. She still refuses to see a proper therapist, but she has opened up to me. Chief has only done the necessary amount of checking in, but will completely avoid the topic other than that. After talking to Carmen, rather than interrogating her, I learned almost everything that we needed to know. The only things that she wouldn’t reveal were the names of her teammates, referring only to them with codenames, and the location of her base. She never gave a reason for refusing any therapy, and would never speak to them beyond a polite hello or goodbye. It took a week of building up trust before she stopped calling me ‘agent’ or referring to me by my last name alone. She still only calls me Julia, and I worry that we will never get back to the level of trust we had before. I was jostled out of my thoughts when I ran into the wall. I heard some laughter and whipped around, blushing.<br/>“You ok there Julia? It looks like you hit that wall pretty hard.”<br/>Carmen was sitting on her bed, reading a copy of Maze Runner. With its many dog-eared pages, it shows how many times she has read it. I feel a pang of guilt at how little Carmen has to do, but I have to push it down as she is looking at me expectantly.<br/>“Yeah I’m fine, just got lost in thought.”<br/>I pull up the chair that is kept just outside her cell and sit facing her. I start our regular checklist that I created to monitor her health and progress. <br/>“So how have you been eating?”<br/>She sighed and rolled her eyes. She closed the book and put it beside her.<br/>“Do we have to go through this every time? You never just show up for a chat, you always have to go through the same list over and over.”<br/>I gave her a quick smile and then get more serious.<br/>“If you actually talked to any of the therapists then…”<br/>She put her hand up, stopping me. I knew that it was a sore subject, but I had to try.<br/>“I’m not seeing any of your doctors. You know this. Just please… stop bringing it up.”<br/>She sighed.<br/>“Let’s just get your list over with.”</p><p>We went through the usual, checking on her health, both physically and mentally. Afterwards she said she was tired and went to sleep, ending any chance of a conversation. I put my chair away and left, finishing up my paperwork for the night. As I was about to leave I got a ping from my phone. It was from Heath, the agent who was on surveillance for Carmen tonight. My heart raced as I opened the message, wondering if something bad had happened. The message was vague, just instructing me to come to the security room. I went over as fast as I could, my pace quickening as I went. When I arrived Heath just showed me the screen, not saying a word. Carmen was lying in her bed, thrashing violently. Heath turned to me with a worried expression.<br/>“It started maybe two minutes ago. I thought you should know.”<br/>I knew I had to get there quickly. I thanked him and left, almost running in my rush to get there. When I arrived at the cell, Carmen was still shaking, but I could hear what she was saying this time.<br/>“Please Professor, no more! I won’t run away again, I promise!”<br/>Ignoring protocol, I quickly used my key and tore open the cell doors.  Running into the room I cleared the blankets off the bed and shook Carmen awake. She woke up with a scream, jolting upright and breathing heavily.<br/>“Carmen are you ok? You were thrashing and screaming in your sleep!”<br/>Her breathing started to go back to normal as she became aware of her surroundings. Slowly she started to sink back down into the pillows, relaxing slightly. <br/>“Yeah, I’m fine, just a bad nightmare, that’s all.”<br/>Not wanting to push the issue, I decided to leave the discussion till morning.<br/>“Ok, I’m going to sit outside, just in case I need to wake you up again. Are you ok with that?”<br/>She nodded and went back down to sleep.<br/>“Thank you, Jules.”</p><p>(Young Carmen POV, after sneaking out on the first caper)<br/>“Now Black Sheep, to try and prevent, incidents, in the future, I will conduct some tests to figure out why you disobeyed orders.”<br/>Professor Maelstrom sat opposite me with a folder full of papers and a strange looking device, likely constructed by Doctor Bellum. <br/>“This device is something I had Doctor Bellum specifically make. You will wear this while we go through a few scenarios, and whenever you even think about disobeying VILE it will send a small electric shock through your body.”<br/>He handed it to me, and I attached the device to my arm.<br/>“Now, are you ready for therapy?”</p><p>(Present day Carmen)<br/>I sat upright with a scream; my breathing heavy. Someone had shaken me and woken me up. As I looked around I started to calm, recognising my surroundings. I wasn’t at VILE, but in my cell at ACME. Julia was standing there, presumably the one who woke me up, with a worried expression on her face.<br/>“Carmen are you ok? You were thrashing and screaming in your sleep!”<br/>I was screaming? How much had she heard? I sunk back into the pillows, trying to clear my head.<br/>“Yeah, I’m fine, just a bad nightmare, that’s all.”<br/>This didn’t seem to convince her, but she tried to smile a little anyway. She was being so nice, even when she didn’t have to.<br/>“Ok, I’m going to sit outside, just in case I need to wake you up again. Are you ok with that?”<br/>I nodded, still to shaken to speak much. I started to settle back down to sleep, with the comfort of knowing someone was just outside. As she started to leave I had to say one more thing.<br/>“Thank you, Jules.”</p><p>That night I had many more nightmares, all of the same thing. Jules never asked what was going on in the dreams, she was just there to comfort me when I awoke. The next morning, I woke up, not due to a nightmare, but to the sun shining bright on my face. I started to panic when I saw Jules missing until I saw the note.<br/>Just gone to get coffee, be back soon. -Julia<br/>I started trying to wake myself up in preparation for a long day of doing nothing. It was actually pretty boring at the ACME compound, with the cell not having many things aside from the essentials for fear of me hurting myself. The only thing I had for entertainment was a copy of Maze Runner, which Jules gave to me as a reward for ‘opening up more’ or something to that extent. I had told her about some of my capers with the crew, using code names of course. The very next day the book was in my cell with a small note attached. I went to grab the book to re-read again, and try to find any details I may have missed. Fun the first few times, not so fun the next 15. I had just settled down to read when Jules came back holding two cups of coffee.<br/>“I figured you could use one too after that long night.”<br/>She slid the coffee cup through the bars, trying not to spill.<br/>“I hope you don’t mind, but I looked through your records to find what your favourite type was.”<br/>I almost spit out my coffee laughing.<br/>“You guys have that in my record? What, do you also have my favourite band? My favourite colour?”<br/>She laughed a little at my jokes.<br/>“It’s not hard to guess your favourite colour, Miss Crimson Shadow. And no, while we don’t exactly have your favourite flavour, we do have records of all the coffee shops you have visited while we were tracking you, and exactly what you ordered. It was simply a matter of finding the most common one.”<br/>There was an awkward silence after that while we were both sipping on our drinks. With a sigh I spoke first.<br/>“I suppose you want to know what my nightmare was about.”<br/>Jules looked a little guilty, then nodded.<br/>“I did wonder, but If you’re not ready, I won’t pry.”<br/>I put my coffee down and explained the details. It was hard to get through, I had suppressed these memories for a reason. Just thinking about it I had to try to hold back tears. Jules sat attentively, listening closely.<br/>“I see why you don’t want therapy after that experience, but I can assure you, our therapists are nothing like that. That wasn’t therapy, that was torture. We are here to help you, whenever you are ready.”<br/>I thought about it, then shook my head.<br/>“Not yet Jules. Maybe someday, but not yet.”</p><p>(Players POV)<br/>I’m sitting on my bed, head in my hands. It’s been a month since Carmen got kidnapped, a month since I left everything behind. That night was the hardest decision I had ever made. I knew that I wanted to go, well before that night. I had packed a suitcase with my computer and some clothes and snuck out the window. I had a ride waiting, one I had booked from the usual place. They don’t ask questions, just get you from point A to B. I had a 3am flight so I had to get there quick. I checked through and went to sit in my seat. I decided not to go all the way to first class, and settled for business, enough to be comfortable while not attracting too much attention. I had my phone turned off ever since I left, so when I landed and turned it on it blew up with messages. Zack and Ivy had been messaging me constantly for hours. It was my fault really; I should have been more specific. I called them back and they immediately picked up.<br/>“Player what’s going on? Why are you coming? What happened?”<br/>Ivy’s worried voice came over the phone and I felt guilty at making them worry for so long. It was 7am here, meaning it’s been about 10 hours since the message.<br/>“Ivy I’m fine. I just landed in San Francisco and I’m heading to my hotel room. I’m making my way to you once I’ve had some rest.”<br/>This was clearly the wrong thing to say, as I could hear Ivy getting madder and madder. <br/>“You just sent us a message with no context and drop off the grid for 10 hours! We’ve been worried sick about you! We’re coming to pick you up from the airport, don’t you move. Zack get in the car!”<br/>I had to hold the phone away from my ear as Ivy continued her screaming. I waited at that airport for another half hour until they showed up. On the whole ride to Red Base I got lectured by Ivy about how irresponsible of me it was and how worried they’ve been. When we got there, she stormed out of the car and into her room. Zack helped me with my bags and showed me to my room.<br/>“Welcome to Red Base, sorry your room isn’t set up yet. We… weren’t exactly prepared for your visit.”<br/>He shot me an apologetic smile. I felt another pang of guilt about how much trouble I’ve caused. Zack pulled out a mattress and some sheets from a cupboard and sets it up in, denying any help I try to offer.<br/>“I’d recommend you get some sleep. You’re tired and Ivy needs to cool off.”<br/>He started to leave then paused at the door. <br/>“We were really worried about you. I’ll try to calm Ivy down.”<br/>He left, and I fell into a fitful sleep.</p><p>A knock at my door made me look up. Ivy poked her head in nervously.<br/>“Hey Player, you ok? You didn’t come down for breakfast.”<br/>I glanced over at the clock on my desk.  9:30.<br/>“I wasn’t hungry.”<br/>The loud grumble of my stomach gave me away and Ivy gave me a look that made me shrink a little. She sighed and sat down on my bed. <br/>“We can’t help you if you don’t talk to us. We care about you and we want to help.”<br/>I looked at her like the big sister I never had. After Carmen went missing, Ivy stepped up, taking charge and looking after us. Having someone to talk to, someone who’s gone through the same things as I have, is still taking some getting used to. As Ivy hugs me I burst into tears from the sheer pressure of everything. <br/>“What happens if we never find her Ivy?”<br/>Ivy hugs me tighter and starts to cry too.<br/>“I don’t know Player, I don’t know.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>This took so long because it's over 2000 words. I really would appreciate any feedback that people have!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Chapter 8 - The Hack</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Jules's POV</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>After that night Carmen has being doing everything to avoid the topic of therapy. She doesn’t complain about my checklist anymore, and she over-exaggerates any time she’s in a good mood. It’s like she thinks that if she just pushes everything down, everyone will just forget about her mental health and move on. I want to help but I don’t know how. I’m so worried that I miss the room that I’m meeting Chief in and I have to double back. I walk in sheepishly and Chief raises an eyebrow.<br/>“Did you forget where the meeting room was Agent?<br/>I shook my head and sat opposite her.<br/>“Just got lost in thought. Why did you call this meeting? My briefing about Carmen isn’t for another week or so.”<br/>Chief tenses up when she hears Carmen’s name, but then relaxes and continues.<br/>“I’m afraid I have some troubling news regarding our prisoner. Remember when she and her team hacked in a month ago?”<br/>I nodded, remembering all too well the moment that started this.<br/>“Well it seems that the same person who hacked in before is trying to get in again. I don’t know what they’re looking for, but I can take a wild guess.”<br/>This must be the skills of the ‘Player’ Carmen has told me so much about.<br/>“Can we trace the signal? If we can track where it’s coming from, we can try and stop them.”<br/>Chief shook her head.<br/>“I’ve already tried that. As well as being an expert hacker, they’re an expert on not getting caught. They have several VPNs and a strong blocker that stops us getting in. The only thing keeping them at bay is our upgraded security system. We changed the password and added more layers of encryption, however I don’t know how long we can keep them at bay.”<br/>After a few moments silence she looked at me and sighed.<br/>“I know you and the prisoner have some kind of friendship going on. If you could try and get some information, or can find a way to get them to stop, do it. A hacker who can break through our security is dangerous enough, but one who wants revenge? They could bring down our whole organisation. Offer her a reduced sentence, or some more luxuries in her cell. I don’t care how you get the information, just get it.” <br/>With that Chief walked out, leaving me alone with my thoughts.</p><p>As I walked down the halls to Carmen’s cell I was trying to think of the best way to discuss the topic. When Carmen saw me approach she shot me a warm smile.<br/>“Hey Jules, how are you going? I’ve been eating well, sleeping well and…”<br/>She trailed off as she saw the serious expression on my face. She tensed, guessing what was coming, her hand shooting to her arm. As I pulled up the chair I tried to give her some comfort before getting into the serious stuff.<br/>“Don’t worry I’m not here to talk to you about therapy. I know you’ve made up your mind, and I can’t change it.”<br/>While still nervous she relaxed, dropping her hand and sitting back more.<br/>“Carmen, your friends are still looking for you.”<br/>Carmen looked like she’d seen a ghost, and she started shaking slightly. She could see the worry on my face and tried to stop it.<br/>“I’m fine, sorry, go on.”<br/>With a small sigh I collected my thoughts. There was no easy way to put this, but I still had to be as gentle as I could.<br/>“Our systems are being hacked, and the persons signature is the same as the first time you broke into our servers. I… I think that it’s Player, the hacker you mentioned to me before.”<br/>Her shaking worsened, and she let out a small sob.<br/>“I told him to leave. I told them all to leave. I wanted them to move on. Why couldn’t they move on?”<br/>She curled up into a ball, shaking and crying like there was no tomorrow. My heat ached for her, and I wish I could have taken some of that pain. Opening the door, I went in to try to comfort her.<br/>“Hey, it’s ok, I’m here. They’re still safe, we haven’t been able to find them yet.”<br/>She slowly sat up her steely eyes, still wet with tears, turning hard as stone.<br/>“So, you want me to give up their location? You want me to betray my best friends? Oh no, we can’t find them, lets go ask Carmen! She’s unstable so that means she’ll betray them at the drop of a hat!”<br/>While she was ranting I was slowly backing out and leaving the cell. With her current emotional state, it wasn’t safe for me to stay in there. I tried to calm her down, all the while shutting the door and locking it.<br/>“We don’t want you to give up their location, we just want them to stop trying to hack us. We don’t know what they might do once they have access to all our data, if they wanted they could reveal everything about us to the whole world!”<br/>As Carmen turned her gaze on me, I could see all the hurt in her eyes, built up emotion just kept below the surface.<br/>“Player would never do that. He is kind and smart, and as much as he wants to find me, he knows you do good, and he would never use it against you! Just like the first time, we had access to your entire server, and despite the fact that your boss murdered my father, we never even touched anything else! I know him, that isn’t the sort of person he is.”<br/>When she tired herself out I looked at her, and felt all the pain she has gone through for all of her life.<br/>“I never would have thought you were the sort of person on that rooftop.”<br/>I said it so quietly that I didn’t know if she heard me or not. This must have resonated with her, as her breathing slowed, and she became quiet. I was wondering if she was going to stay quiet, when she spoke.<br/>“If I can stop him from hacking in, can you promise that he, or any of the others, won’t be harmed, followed or arrested?”<br/>I nodded. If Chief was prepared to reduce Carmen’s sentence, then she definitely wouldn’t mind not arresting someone who hasn’t technically done anything yet. Carmen took a few deep breaths and managed to stop shaking.<br/>“Let’s get started then.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Another 10pm write, it's when I do my best work apparently</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. Chapter 9 - The Message</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Players POV</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>I’m sitting at my desk, typing away. I’ve been trying to get into the ACME servers for days now. I don’t know how close I am, but I feel like I’m almost there. I’m still working when I get a ping from my other monitor. I take a glance over then turn back to my main screen. I turn back when I realise what the message says.<br/>“Hey Player. It’s Carmen.”<br/>I immediately turn back and click on the message board. My heart is pounding as I type out my message.<br/>“Carmen? Where are you? Tell us, we’re trying to find you, we’ll get you out of there.”<br/>As she was typing a message back I sent one to Ivy and Zack, telling them to come up.<br/>“Even if I wanted to tell you, I couldn’t. I have no idea where I am. That’s not why I messaged though. You need to stop trying to get into the ACME servers.”<br/>As I read the message I was confused. As I was typing back Ivy came bursting into my room, followed by Zack.<br/>“Player what’s going on? Did you find her?”<br/>Zack was panting behind her; they had clearly run to get here. Wordlessly I showed them the monitor. Ivy immediately started typing on my keyboard, desperate to send her message through.<br/>“Carm, it’s Ivy. Why don’t you want us to come find you? What did they do to you?”<br/>Carmen’s message came back fast.<br/>“Ivy why are you on Player’s computer? What’s going on?”<br/>I pulled back my keyboard from Ivy.<br/>“I’m sorry Ivy but I need to type this. We need to get as much info as possible.”<br/>She nodded, not looking very happy as she stepped away.<br/>“Red I’m back. It’s a long story but we need to come find you; do you have any hints as to your location?<br/> There was a break and then she went offline. As I was about to start tracing the location she came back online.<br/>“I’m sorry I’m back. I have gotten permission to call you, make sure the whole gang is there.”<br/>We all gathered around the screen, waiting. Suddenly the call came though, and we could see our faces on the screen. We immediately accepted and Carmen’s face appeared. Everyone started talking at once.<br/>“Carm where are you, are you ok?”<br/>“Boss what’s going on?”<br/>“Red I’m tracking you as we speak, hold on.”<br/>She held up a hand and we all fell silent.<br/>“First things first, Player, stop tracking me. Second I’m fine, I just needed to tell you to stop trying to hack ACME’s servers. If you stop now I can keep talking. Now there is something I need to know. Why the hell is Player in Red Base?”<br/>We talked for ages, with Red never revealing or giving us any hints of where she was. Not even a coded message. After maybe an hour of back and forth she was all caught up on our lives, while we still didn’t know much about what was going on with her. She started talking to who I guessed was an ACME agent and turned back to the camera.<br/>“Jules wants to speak with you guys, cover the camera or move out of sight. Especially you Player.”<br/>The look she shot me made me know she was serious. I moved out of sight and Ivy and Zack put on the masks we got from Rio as souvenirs of our visit. When Carmen handed off the device to the agent we all went on guard when seeing who it was.<br/>“You.”<br/>Ivy growled, clearly remembering this agent’s face from the surveillance footage. The agent didn’t seem taken aback at the hostile reception, but rather at the fact Ivy knew her.<br/>“You must be Ember. I’m sorry to interrupt your chat with Miss Sandiego but we really must talk.”<br/>We were all temporary silenced. Who was Ember? The agent noticed our shock and continued.<br/>“Your friend gave me codenames when referring to you in your capers. She is very protective of you, and would do anything to keep you guys safe.”<br/>We nodded. That sounded like Carmen all right, trying her best to keep us safe, even when hope seemed lost. Ivy was the only one who wasn’t on board.<br/>“How are we supposed to trust you? We saw the surveillance footage; we know it was you who kidnapped her!”<br/>The agent, who had been walking up until this point, stopped and sat down.<br/>“Did you also happen to see what I stopped her from doing?”<br/>Ivy went quiet after this, so I used the opportunity to pipe up.<br/>“You said you needed to talk to us. What about? If it’s that we were hacking in I’ve stopped. If Red wants us to stop, I know she has her reasons.”<br/>The agent seemed to relax a little more at this.<br/>“That is a relief, but it is not the only reason I needed to speak with you. I don’t think we’ve been properly introduced. My name is Julia, otherwise known as Jules.”<br/>I nodded offscreen. I remembered hearing Carmen mention this name in the past.<br/>“So, Julia, what’s wrong? Is Carmen ok?”<br/>Julia took a deep breath before continuing.<br/>“Carmen is fine physically, but as you may know her mental health isn’t doing so well. I have tried to convince her to see a therapist, but due to some past traumatic events she refuses to. I was hoping you may be able to talk some sense into her, or at least see if you can help find an alternative. I am really worried about her, and I would like to see her get better.”<br/>With this Ivy let out a loud snort of disbelief.<br/>“Why would you want to help her? What is there some information you need hidden behind ‘mental blocks’ or something? Gee I wonder why she doesn’t want to see one of your therapists, maybe because you, I don’t know, kidnapped her? She doesn’t want to reveal her private information to the people who’ve kept her locked up for a month, what a shocker!”<br/>I could see Julia flinching as Ivy continued. She very clearly cared about Carmen, maybe as much as we did. Zack placed an arm on Ivy’s shoulder, slowing her rant until she ended up crying on his arm. I turned off the webcam and moved back in front of the monitor.<br/>    “We do want to help her; we’ve just been searching for the past month to find her. It’s been very hard on us. How do you think we can help?”<br/>Julia nodded, clearly determined.<br/>“I’m not sure exactly, was there anyone Carmen really connected with before… the incident?”<br/>I thought for a moment and shook my head before remembering She couldn’t see me.<br/>“No, I don’t think so, none of us really understood what she was going through except…” <br/>I trailed off as Ivy let out another loud sob behind us.<br/>“No-one except Shadowsan.”<br/>Zack shot me a dirty look. After reading his letter we had decided that we wouldn’t bring him up. It was too painful in the already trying time. Julia let out a soft noise of recognition, clearly Carmen had told her about him. She was about to respond when there was a loud beeping from her pocket.<br/>“I am sorry, but I must go now. We will be in contact with you again shortly. Thank you for the help.”<br/>With that the screen went dark, and she was gone. I shut down all my code, turned of my location tracker from the call and opened a google search bar.<br/>“Therapy animals”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0010"><h2>10. Chapter 10 - The Solution</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Switches between POV's</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>(Carmen’s POV)<br/>Ever since talking with the crew I’ve felt better. Not much, and I’m still pretty mad they didn’t at least try to go back to regular society, but still better. I’ve stopped having to lie as much to Jules about how I’m feeling because I’m generally in a more positive mood. She’s noticed as well, and it makes her happier. She has been acting weird lately and I’m worried she’s going to ask me about therapy again. I’ve still been having nightmares, but not as bad. As Jules comes for the regularly scheduled meetings she looks nervous again. I try to push my worries down below and greet her with a smile.<br/>“Hey Jules, how’s it going?”<br/>As she pulled up the chair she started to relax a bit more.<br/>“I’m good, just have a big meeting with Chief after this.”<br/>That was why she was tense! I was more relaxed, but also intrigued.<br/>“What’s the meeting about? Must be pretty important if it’s just a one on one.”<br/>I knew that they meet every couple of weeks to talk about me, but I was fishing for information. <br/>“Sorry Carmen, it’s classified. I’m not allowed to tell you.”<br/>I sighed in disappointment. I’m never getting out of here, so what’s the point in not telling me? I dropped it though, I know that Jules has to follow protocol. We continue chatting for a bit until she has to go. I lay back down in my bed, getting ready to do more of absolutely nothing.</p><p>(Jules’s POV)<br/>After meeting with Carmen, I felt even more motivated to complete my task. I had asked Chief for a meeting a few days ago and we finally managed to set one up. With my heart pounding in my chest I walked into the meeting room. Chief wasn’t there yet, so I checked my watch. I was a minute early, giving me just enough time to go over my notes. When Chief arrived, I felt prepared. After exchanging pleasantries, I was about to start talking about my points when Chief stopped me. <br/>“Before we begin this meeting I have something we need to discuss.”<br/>She sighed and continued with a pained look on her face.<br/>“ACME wasn’t built to hold prisoners long-term, and Carmen’s stay is getting expensive. We may need to figure out a way to cut the costs, even if it means transferring her to an actual prison. I have a maximum security one in mind, one that is as hard to escape from as ACME.”<br/>She could see the look of horror mixed with shock on my face as she continued.<br/>“I have an alternative that I have thought long and hard about, one that you may prefer. However, it would be putting a great deal of responsibility onto you, and you would have to keep up with your work as well.”<br/>I thought about it. Was I willing to take on extra responsibility to keep her safe? Even if it meant I would have to work harder at work to keep up? My mind was made up as soon as I asked the question.<br/>“I want to keep her safe, and if that means extra responsibility, then so be it.”<br/>Chief nodded, as if expecting this outcome.<br/>“Very well. Here is what must happen.”</p><p>(Carmen’s POV)<br/>As I saw Jules walking back to my cell I was surprised. It had only been twenty minutes, whereas the normal meetings went on for thirty to forty. I would have though she would have been more relaxed after the meeting, however she seemed more tense than before.<br/>“That was a short meeting. What, did you guys not have enough clearance to brief each other?”<br/>My attempt at humour was short lived, as Jules didn’t laugh, and seemed lost in thought. I was about to say something when she did it for me.<br/>“Carmen I have something I need to tell you about.”<br/>I sat up straighter. Those words rarely followed good news.<br/>“Chief has offered you a position at ACME, and if you don’t take it you’ll be sent to a maximum-security prison!”<br/>The words tumbled out, all in a rush. I was trying to comprehend what was going on and form a decent sentence at the same time, and failed, causing the only thing to come out of my mouth being<br/>“What?”<br/>Jules looked flustered but spoke calmer now, revealing more information. I learned about the economic situation that ACME was in, and the importance of my choice. I didn’t want to be sent to prison, but I didn’t want to work for that murderer of a Chief either. I managed to get out an ‘I’ll think about it’ before Jules left. It was obvious what she wanted me to choose. Come join ACME, and help them take down VILE. It certainly was tempting, and it would mean I would be able to roam free again. I would be doing what I was doing before this whole thing, just for ACME rather tan my own team. Jules had assured me that I would be able to keep my crew with me, provided they were all on board. Then again, it was never specified that I had to be nice to Chief, just put up with her as my boss on the rare occasion she spoke to me. Besides, if anything went sideways, I could always drop off the grid. I wouldn’t let them find me again. With my mind made up I fell into a restless sleep.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0011"><h2>11. Chapter 11 - The Release</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Players POV</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>I was sitting at my desk falling asleep. I had barely moved for days, just watching the screens. I had resorted to slapping myself awake when Ivy came up.<br/>“You ok there Player? You’re looking kind of rough.”<br/>She handed me a travel mug which I started to down before remembering that it was hot. Sputtering, I put the mug down and started to clean everything off, with Ivy cracking up off to the side. Once I regained taste I realised something.<br/>“This isn’t coffee!”<br/>I stared at her with accusing eyes, while she slowly stopped laughing.<br/>“Sorry Player but you have to sleep sometime. Besides what are you, 12? Coffee isn’t good for young kids, so I got you a hot chocolate instead.”<br/>I let out an exasperated moan.<br/>“Ivy I’m 16 and if I don’t get coffee in me right now I will throw something heavy at your face.”<br/>She kept laughing and walked off.<br/>“Good luck with that. We’ve hidden the coffee maker until you get some sleep.”<br/>This was promptly followed by a large rubix cube narrowly missing the back of her head. I turned back to my monitor and sighed. Taking another sip of the hot chocolate I thought about what Ivy said and promptly dismissed it. As I was about to go down to find the expresso machine I heard a ding on my computer. Heart pounding, I opened the message. It was from the same account Carmen had messaged me from.<br/>“Hey Player, we need to talk. Get the whole crew there.”<br/>Immediately I scoured through the systems to look for the redheads. Taking note of the coffee machine being on top of the fridge I quickly found them in the living room. I called for them to come up, and they could hear the urgency in my voice. They ran up, Ivy coming in first, Zack closely behind.<br/>“Player if this is about the coffee I swear to god…”<br/>I ignored her and typed back a message to Carmen, letting her know. When she called us I quickly moved out of shot, on the off chance that there was an ACME agent on the other end. Once I saw it was Carmen I moved back.<br/>“Red what’s wrong? Has something gone wrong at ACME?”<br/>I didn’t want to jump to conclusions, but I knew that if she managed to get hold of a device it was important.<br/>“First things first, Player stop tracking us. I know that you’re doing it.”<br/>I blushed and sheepishly turned off my tracker. She rolled her eyes and continued.<br/>“Thanks. Now I don’t know how much time we have so I’ll be brief. ACME has presented me with an ultimatum. I either join them and get out of jail on probation, or I get moved to a maximum-security prison.”<br/>We all gasped, with Zack letting out an expletive before Ivy punched him in the arm and Carmen shot him a warning look. There were a few seconds of awkward silence before Zack spoke up.<br/>“So… which did you pick?”<br/>We all stared expectantly at Carmen for an answer. She looked at us and we could see the bags under her eyes, showing late nights from this decision.<br/>“I haven’t decided yet. I’m leaning towards joining them, I don’t plan on being in prison forever. However, I don’t particularly like Chief, as you all know.”<br/>We all nodded, waiting for her answer. She took a deep breath, followed by a long sigh.<br/>“I eventually decided to leave it up to you. If we worked for ACME we could keep doing what we’re doing, just reporting to a higher up. It would also mean that the money we steal from VILE wouldn’t be keeping us afloat, they would be paying us. It is quite a large amount, and with them funding any transportation or field costs, we wouldn’t have to worry about keeping costs low. After a long debate, I eventually told them I would only take the job if my crew was on board. They’ve given us a week to decide, if we take any longer then they’ll send me to the prison.”<br/>We were all stunned into silence. After another few awkward moments Zack was the first to speak.<br/>“I’m with you boss. All the way.”<br/>After some deliberation I made my decision.<br/>“I’m coming too. There’s no way I’m ditching you now.”<br/>We both turned to Ivy expectantly. <br/>“Are you both out of your minds? Why should we trust them? They kidnapped Carmen, caused everyone a sh*tload of mental trauma and we don’t even know what horrible things they did to Carm!”<br/>After shooting a glare at Ivy for swearing Carmen went quiet.<br/>“Maybe you don’t know about horrible things because there weren’t any.”<br/>Shame crossed Ivy’s face, chased back by anger once more. Seeing this, Carmen continued.<br/>“This is why I asked first. We have time to talk and come to a consensus together, but we need to be civil about it. I can talk for another hour and a half before my time is up. Let’s have a calm discussion about it, ok?”<br/>After everyone made some sort of agreement I took another swig of my thermos. Carmen noticed it, as well as the brown stains on my shirt, and lost that calm look she had on her face.<br/>“Who thought it was a good idea to let Player have coffee!”</p><p>After some debate (and proving it was hot chocolate) we came to an agreement. Ivy wanted to see Carm come home as much as the rest of us, and eventually it won out. Carmen was coming home.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0012"><h2>12. Chapter 12 - The Plan</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>(Jules’s POV)<br/>As I strode through the halls of ACME there was a lot of chatter between agents. The organisation normally wasn’t one for gossip, but once the rumour went around that Carmen Sandiego was joining us, that was all anyone could talk about. I had many people come up and ask me to confirm or deny, but I’d always send them away with a “don’t believe everything you hear.” I still actually never answered the question, but this satisfied most people. When I was just outside of Carmen’s cell, another agent came up for my opinion. I told them the same thing as everyone else and Carmen laughed as they walked away. <br/>“Another cryptic message? Is anyone going to get a straight answer from you?”<br/>I sighed, shaking my head.<br/>“Not unless they have high enough clearance and demand the answer from me. Unfortunately for them, Agent Meszaros does not have high enough clearance.”<br/>Carmen raised an eyebrow at the last name.<br/>“Meszaros, is that Hungarian?”<br/>I nodded, astounded by her knowledge.<br/>“Yes, Bence Meszaros. They came from Hungary, but got moved here after being recruited for ACME.”<br/>She became lost in thought, then her eyes lit up. <br/>“Jules I just thought of a game we could play to pass the time. We can take turns talking about historical landmarks for a country and whoever runs out first is the looser.”<br/>I became excited at this, always eager to share my knowledge.<br/>“It’s a shame you didn’t come up with this game before getting out, I would have loved sharing all my knowledge with you.”<br/>A small smirk crossed my lips.<br/>“And wining of course.”<br/>I saw Bence running off, clearly about to tell everyone the information they had just uncovered. Carmen heard my challenge and got excited, looking happier than I had seen her in a while.<br/>“Oh, it’s on!”</p><p>After playing a few rounds, and being surprised when Carmen kept up with me, I remembered why I was there.<br/>“Oh no I just remembered; we were supposed to go over the checklist!”<br/>I started pulling it out of my bag, pen in hand. Carmen was laughing again, but not in a mean-spirited way. As we went through the checklist she said she was feeling good, and for the first time, I believed her. Afterwards I left, and took out my ACME issue tablet, the same one Carmen had been using to contact Player, and pulled up the message board. I sent him a message, knowing that he would respond quickly.<br/>“It’s Julia. I have something that I must discuss with you. Ember and Fireman are welcome, but their presence is not required.”<br/>As I knew he would, Player responded instantly.<br/>“Why, is something wrong? They’re sleeping right now so I don’t want to bother them unless necessary.” <br/>Of course! In my nervous state I had completely forgotten about time zones. That did raise one question, however.<br/>“My apologies, in my haste I had forgotten about time zones. Don’t bother waking them up. If it’s so late though, why are you awake?”<br/>I could see that he had typed a message and then deleted it, and after a minute he had finally settled.<br/>“It’s fine, you don’t even know where we are. I’m awake just in case something like this happens. Anyway, what’s wrong? Has something gone wrong with the transfer to ACME?”<br/>I was fidgeting, typing taking too long for me in my agitated state.<br/>“Can we call? It may be more effective than typing.”<br/>When I got no response I quickly typed another message.<br/>“It doesn’t have to be a video call, just audio.”<br/>After a few more seconds I get a message back.<br/>“An audio call sounds good; I was just setting up all my security measures.”<br/>I felt a pang of sadness that they still didn’t trust me, which I quickly pushed down when Player started to call me. I picked up and got straight to the point.<br/>“Since Carmen is being released soon I thought we could put together a celebration. I get you may not trust me with the location of your base yet, but I do want to help.”<br/>Player was stunned into silence for a few seconds, then started laughing.<br/>“That’s what you messaged about? Oh, thank god, I was so worried it was something bad. On the topic of our location, I’m fine with it as long as Carmen gives the ok, but Iv- Ember may have a problem with it.”<br/>I nodded, remembering her hostile reception, and then the fact Play couldn’t see me.<br/>“We could arrange it at another location, I just felt it would feel more like a welcome home party if it took place at Carmen’s home.”<br/>Player made a mumble of agreement.<br/>“I’ll talk to the crew and try to ask Carmen discreetly if she would trust you there. I believe she will after everything that’s happened, but she is the boss. Let’s plan the party but not finalise anything till I have that confirmation. Does that sound good?”<br/>After confirming it was I felt hope rise. I was getting lost in my thoughts again when Player spoke again.<br/>“Also, that thing we discussed earlier? All taken care of. I’ve found the perfect one.”<br/>We spoke for hours before I could hear Player yawning. He tried to stay on by drinking coffee, but I told him to go to bed. I promised we wouldn’t contact him for at least 8 hours so he could get a proper rest. After he logged off I put my tablet down happily. Everything was coming together.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I'm running out of titles</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0013"><h2>13. Chapter 13 - The Party</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Players POV</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>After talking with Julia, I immediately ignored her advice and went downstairs to make some more coffee. As I pulled out the stool to look on top of the fridge I noticed it wasn’t there. They must have known I had found its hiding place. As I searched around the kitchen as quietly as possible I managed to find it hidden away in the back of a cupboard. When I pulled it out and turned around to set it on the island behind me, I saw Ivy standing there, arms crossed. I put the machine down and tried to brush it off.<br/>“So, Ivy, want some coffee?”<br/>If looks could kill then I would be dead. The glare she gave me was far worse than any look Carmen had ever given me, and I felt guilty immediately. I started to go back upstairs, not to sleep, but to try to continue on anyway, when Ivy stopped me.<br/>“Oh no, you don’t get to just go back up to your room. Sit down right there, we need to talk about this.”<br/>She went upstairs, presumably to get Zack, and I sighed. All this over some coffee? Granted it probably wasn’t good for me, but I needed the energy. Anyway, it’s much better to have coffee than those sugar filled nightmares called energy drinks. They didn’t even taste good, so what was all that sugar even for? My thoughts were interrupted as Ivy dragged down a very tired Zack down with her. I shot him an apologetic smile and he shrugged, as if to let me know not to worry about it. I wasn’t surprised when Ivy started things off, as neither of us wanted to be here.<br/>“Player, coffee isn’t good for you, and neither is this lack of sleep.”<br/>I was about to agree, just nod and go along with it to go back to my room, when I realised why I needed the coffee in the first place. I took a deep breath and told them about the party plans. They were on board… until I told them who I had invited. I was surprised when it was Zack who spoke first, due to him usually staying quiet and calming his sister down.<br/>“No way. There is no way we’re letting her anywhere near here.”<br/>After Ivy stopped staring at her brother, she turned back to me.<br/>“For once I agree with him, it’s way too risky to let her in here.”<br/>I knew this may have been an issue, so I had already come up with some counterarguments.<br/>“What risk would we be taking? She’s helped Carmen for well over a month, this is the least we can do!”<br/>This clearly pained Ivy, however much she tried to hide it.<br/>“She’s an ACME agent! We can’t trust her!”<br/>There was one detail she missed that I had remembered. Zack had remembered it too, and he saved me the trouble of telling her.<br/>“Sis, we’re ACME agents now.”<br/>Ivy threw her hands up in defeat and stormed around before coming back to sit down.<br/>“If you’re all going to gang up on me, fine! She can come, but I’m setting some rules first, got it?”<br/>I nodded enthusiastically, Zack less so.<br/>”Rule one. Player you have to hold off on the coffee until Carm gets back. Then I can stop dealing with this problem of yours and make someone that you’ll actually listen to tell you.”<br/>I pouted in protest, but she didn’t care.<br/>“You wanted this; you deal with it. Rule two. She can’t know where she is. When we come to pick her up, I’ll blindfold her before we go.”<br/>I saw a problem with this plan.<br/>“What if Red doesn’t mind Julia knowing where we are? She might not appreciate you tying up her brand-new co-worker.”<br/>Ivy waved it off.<br/>“If Carm wants us to let her see, I’ll let her see. You just have to make sure she’s ok with it first.”<br/>I nodded; glad this was going so well.<br/>“Last but not least, rule 3. Our main priority must be to welcome Carmen home, so no mention of ACME, her imprisonment, and certainly not that dammed rooftop. Got it?”<br/>This was a rule neither of us had any objection to, so we both nodded our heads. Ivy clapped her hands together.<br/>“Perfect! This means it’s party planning time!”<br/>After pointing out that it was early morning, and not party planning time we all went to bed. Only Ivy stayed behind, claiming to hide the machine in a place I would never find it. That night I fell into a deep sleep, not plagued with nightmares for the first time in over a month.</p><p>The next morning, we drove down to the local Party City to pick up all the supplies we needed. After stocking up on balloons, buntings and a large banner we moved on to Walmart. Going from store to store, we picked out decorations, food and presents for the party. We were all enjoying ourselves, really bonding for the first time since I moved in. I wanted to split up to look for presents for Carmen, but Ivy wouldn’t let me go off on my own. I started to grumble to myself, I was 16 after all, until I realised that I didn’t mind. This trip wouldn’t have been half as fun without the siblings goofing around and telling jokes. We already had our big present sorted, so we had to find smaller ones from each of us. Ivy ended up getting her a striking red dress that we saw in a boutique window, Zack picked out a box of her favourite chocolates and I got her a book on the worlds unsolved mysteries. We also ordered a custom cake for delivery on the day of the party. When said day finally arrived, we set to work preparing everything. We all got up early to help set up, as Ivy and Zack had to go pick Carmen and Julia up. On the way out, Zack discreetly handed me the piñata Ivy had vetoed, nodding his head over to a small hook in the ceiling. I nodded back, hiding it out of sight temporarily. After all the decorations were put up, and the cake was delivered, I set about preparing the final things. I set up everything for Carmen’s big present and waited. It arrived a few minutes before they did, leaving me just enough time to put it in her room. With a big smile, I stepped out to greet them as the car rolled up in the driveway.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>So the main story is coming to a close on my fanfic, but don't worry, I will keep going. I'm also planning something special on the side but it will take a while.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0014"><h2>14. Chapter 14 - Home.</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Carmen's POV</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>I was finally free. After a month and a half, I was released from the ACME facility. They had given me the clothes I was wearing when they arrested me, washed, dried and ironed. Putting them on after wearing orange jumpsuits for so long was such a relief. That’s when it really clicked for me. I was going home. Jules accompanied me out, she said that she was assigned to making sure I get home safely. <br/>“I know you can look after yourself, but having not trained in such a long time, Chief thought it was best for me to accompany you. Ember and Fireman will pick you up when we get off the flight but I’m sticking with you until then.”<br/>For all of her good qualities, Jules was a terrible liar. I didn’t push the issue as I figured out what was probably going on really quickly. When I left the building, the sun made me blink. After being in the artificially lit ACME building for so long, it was nice to fell the sunlight on my skin again. I could see Jules watching me out of the corner of my eye, but at that moment I didn’t care. We got into the ACME version of Uber and she turned to me.<br/>“There’s still about 5 hours before the flight, is there anything you want to do before then?”<br/>I thought about it, then realised something.<br/>“Uhm Jules… I don’t even know where I am.”<br/>She blushed, embarrassed. <br/>“Right, I should have remembered. We are in Poitiers, in France.”<br/>Thinking back, that makes a lot of sense. Jules had mentioned living here, and always seemed to be around the ACME facility. I should have guessed that we were near where she lived, a part of me just assumed that there were bunks at ACME. I pushed that down because she was looking at me expectantly.<br/>“Well since you’re the history expert, and you know the area… are there any historical sites around?”<br/>She blushed at the compliment but started to get more and more excited. She started talking about the many places we could go to and we eventually settled on two. As we made our way around, we marvelled at the Musée Sainte-Croix and the Baptistère Saint-Jean. At each place Jules got more and more in depth explaining the history, with one group of tourists thinking it was a tour group with her as the guide! She was more than happy to explain the historical significance of everything, constantly checking back to make sure we all followed. By the time we were done we had three and a half hours till the flight and had to get going. After bidding farewell to the group, we headed to the airport and made it through security without any problems. The fact that I didn’t have any luggage on me, and Jules’s ACME card gave us a speedy trip through customs. We sat down and got something to eat when I looked at my ticket.<br/>“First class huh? Player must have really gone all out on this one.”<br/>Jules heard me and looked over at the ticket.<br/>“That’s odd, Chief was the one who booked our tickets. She normally books business class, but this is a step above that.”<br/>I added it to the list of things I needed to ask Player, this had his handywork written all over it. While waiting for our flight we talked about all the things we saw on our tour today, Jules getting caught up in the history again. She caught herself talking again and smiled sheepishly.<br/>“I’m sorry to bore you with these dull facts, I just tend to get lost in the fascinating history of these places.”<br/>I sat up straighter.<br/>“Jules don’t let anyone tell you that these are just dull facts. The history and significance of places is just as important, more even, than the monetary value. If anyone tries to tell you otherwise, send them my way.”<br/>She laughed at little.<br/>“He can’t not go your way. It’s practically the only thing he does.”<br/>I realised who she was talking about pretty quickly.<br/>“Devineaux?”<br/>She nodded, blushing slightly.<br/>“Well then don’t listen to what he says. It never led to him catching me, did it?”<br/>She let out another shaky laugh.<br/>“I suppose it didn’t.”<br/>We kept talking until our flight was called, then we boarded and picked out a movie.<br/>“Men in Black? I thought you wouldn’t want to see anything reminding you of any secret organisation, real or fake.”<br/>I shrugged.<br/>“I’m an agent now anyway, might as well. Anyway, you wanted to watch a documentary on the history of France, lets watch something more exciting.”<br/>She frowned at me in a joking manner.<br/>“I thought you liked my dull facts.”<br/>I shot her a quick smile.<br/>“Only when they come from you.”<br/>This made her blush enough to not complain when I put on Men in Black. She ended up falling asleep, which was understandable, there were hours left in the flight before our layover. I wondered to myself if she even knew where we were going, or if she was just along for the ride. I wanted to phone Player, but he would hopefully be asleep by now. I sent them a text once I had gotten my phone back, but <br/>It was too late at night for a reply. Checking it one last time, I pocketed my phone and tried to get some sleep. I woke up halfway through our flight with a start, but calmed down pretty quickly. I had to get good at that during my stay at ACME, due to the increased amount of nightmares I started having. Jules woke up groggily when I jolted awake. I was talking about random things in a calm voice, a trick that I had picked up on VILE island whenever I couldn’t sleep. I must have dosed off, as I woke up again from Jules gently shaking me.<br/>“Our flight just landed, sorry to wake you.”<br/>I groggily opened my eyes. I realised in my attempt to help Jules get back to sleep I had fallen asleep myself. Once I made this realisation my face went hot with me blushing. Jules giggled and helped me up.<br/>“Let me just grab my bag and we can get off. There’s a few hours before the next flight so we can grab something to eat.”<br/>We had landed in the John F. Kennedy International Airport and Jules wasted no time in explaining the history of the place and the person it got named after. We wanted to get some food while we waited, and so went to the First-Class lounge.<br/>“You know, this is my first time being in a place like this.”<br/>I gestured to the lounge around me, taking in the beauty of it all. Jules looked at me in surprise. <br/>“Don’t you travel all the time? I find it hard to believe Player has never upgraded you to first class before.”<br/>I almost didn’t hear her, but I stopped looking at the scenery to turn to her.<br/>“We mostly fly private. It saves a lot of trouble, especially when you don’t have to go through customs with whatever was taken from the job. Can’t really just waltz up with a giant diamond in my suitcase now can I?”<br/>She laughed, and we went in. There were large couches, a dining area, and a large bar. We opened up the menus and placed our orders. We held back on the alcohol, but the food was delicious. We just sat and talked until out flight was ready. When we boarded I let Jules choose the movie, as I had gotten to watch my one last time, and we ended up on the Nancy Drew movie.<br/>“A kid detective movie? Jules you’re the real deal, why do you need to watch this?”<br/>I was just teasing but she gave back a fully serious answer.<br/>“I like her different perspective on things. It often leads to her solving the case faster than the more traditional police department, meaning that the common way isn’t always the right way to go.”<br/>I pretended to pout.<br/>“So, the only reason you gave me a chance was because of Nancy Drew? I’m offended to be honest. I thought it was because of my charming personality and dashing looks.”<br/>Jules rolled her eyes.<br/>“And the fact you weren’t actually a VILE agent.”<br/>I nodded.<br/>“That too.”<br/>We both ended up falling asleep again, this time for the whole flight. We were sleeping so deeply that the flight attendant only woke us up after doing a final luggage check. We apologised and gave a handsome tip for her trouble, which she refused at first, but I talked her into accepting. I winked at Jules once we left.<br/>“See? Charming personality.”<br/>She rolled her eyes. We kept up a steady stream of banter, until I got tackled to the ground. I was immediately on high alert until I saw the red hair of Zack.<br/>“Carmen! You made it!”<br/>Ivy also ran up to hug me, but at least she waited until I had gotten up again. It was so good to see them again, I wanted to hug them and never let go. I eventually did and started introductions.<br/>“Guys, this is Jules, Jules this is Ivy and Zack.”<br/>Jules looked surprised that I told her their names. I shrugged.<br/>“We’re on the same side now, you might as well know. Besides, since you’re coming to visit Red Base, you’re going to find out one way or another.”<br/>I guessed that Ivy was going to be mad, so I stepped in.<br/>“She didn’t tell me, I just guessed. Jules, you’re super smart, but you can’t lie to save your life.”<br/>She blushed and started to stammer an excuse when we were interrupted by the parking officer.<br/>“Hey, could you please move this along? We have other people waiting to park.”<br/>We apologised and got in the car. It looked like it had been cleaned recently, and my suspicions were confirmed by Zack.<br/>“We took her to the car wash to get her all shiny for the occasion. What do you think?”<br/>Ivy interrupted me with a groan.<br/>“He insisted that we go through the one with coloured bubbles.”<br/>Julia and I laughed, and I could see Zacks blush from the mirror.<br/>“It was the premium one! I just thought it would make it look better!”<br/>The siblings kept up their arguing all the way home, but we didn’t mind. Jules was giggling at all the embarrassing things they brought up about each other, and it was nice to see her so carefree for once. When we arrived, I saw a van pulling away, but I didn’t get to see what it was. When I asked about it they smiled and shrugged their shoulders. When we arrived, I saw Player standing out front. I had a rush of emotions, from happiness to anger to sadness. I pushed them all down when I ran out the car. I gave him a big hug, this being the first time I’ve seen him in person. After I hugged him I immediately started scolding him.<br/>“Player you are the smartest idiot I know, why did you run away like that? You didn’t have to uproot your whole life, leave everything you knew behind, and run away to join us!”<br/>As I continued I eventually ran out of steam. I felt bad but he didn’t seem too phased.<br/>“Yeah Ivy and Zack said something along the same lines. I just couldn’t stay there, at least here I can be helpful!”<br/>He made a small smile.<br/>“Only downside is that Ivy has been trying to hide the expresso machine from me.”<br/>I laughed a little and turned to her.<br/>“She has? Brilliant, well done Ivy.”<br/>Player pouted his lip but started laughing too. There was a breeze blowing so I suggested that we head inside. When we went in I was taken aback. There were balloons as far as the eye could see, bright decorations all over the wall, and a large banner that said, ‘Welcome Home Carmen!’ I teared up a little at this, until I noticed the confetti. So. Much. Confetti. Ivy saw me eyeing it off and gave me a pat on the back.<br/>“Don’t worry Carm, this is your party, so we’ll clean up.”<br/>This made both Player and Zack groan, until Ivy gave Zack a slap on the back of the head. Player stopped complaining and Zack switched to grumbling about his head. We went in and after sweeping confetti of the couch we sat down. As I sunk down into the couch I let out a satisfied sigh. It was so good to finally be home. As we sat down, everyone seemed to be fidgeting.<br/>“What’s wrong? You guys don’t have to sit with me, it’s just nice to be back.”<br/>They all looked at each other, as if talking some silent language. Eventually they all nodded, and Player spoke up.<br/>“So according to the internet, you’re meant to pass out gifts at the end of a party, but we kinda need to do ours now.”<br/>I raised an eyebrow.<br/>“Well for one, you guys didn’t need to get me anything, but thank you. Second, what do you mean you need to do it now?”<br/>They started to get excited, but Jules shot them all a look and spoke.<br/>“We’ll do the small presents first, then the big one.”<br/>I was intrigued, but sat still as presents were being passed around. Zack gave me his first, which was a box of my favourite chocolates. I had one before putting the box to the side. I had forgotten how good they were as the chocolate melted in my mouth. Player handed me his next, which was a book on the worlds unsolved mysteries. It looked interesting, and the blurb said that it has all the clues that the police had. It would be perfect for those nights where you just can’t fall asleep. Ivy passed me hers, which was in a large black dry-cleaning bag. As soon as I unzipped it I got a flash of red. Pulling it out, I discovered that it was a beautiful red dress, perfect for evening wear, or fancy capers. I hung it up on the side, promising to use it next time I needed formal wear. Finally, it was Jules’s go. She handed me a small box, which I opened curiously. Inside was a stunning ruby necklace that took my breath away. I managed to stammer out a small thank you, before lifting it out to get a better look. The jewels glittered in the morning light, refracting small dots of red all over the floor. Everyone let out a small gasp before I put it on. I managed to get out a proper thank you to Jules before Player jumped up.<br/>“Ok let’s go upstairs for your big gift now!”<br/>He grabbed my arm, pulling it excitedly. As we went up the stairs I could hear a noise coming from behind my door. I tensed up, but no-one else seemed to worry about it. Player stopped outside, full of energy.<br/>“Go on, open it!”<br/>Feeling nervous I opened the door, only to be knocked to the floor by a bundle of fur. There was a large dog on top of me, licking my face. Ivy came over and pulled them off of me.<br/>“Carmen, meet Oreo!”<br/>I sat up and got a good look at the dog. He was a border collie, sporting a rich chocolate brown, with a white underbelly and tail, and four white legs. As soon as Ivy let him go again, he bounded over to me, licking my face once more. I looked up at everyone, surprised. <br/>“Guys, I love him, obviously, but why did you get me a dog? We’re always off on capers, what are we supposed to do with him? We can’t really hire a pet sitter; we live in a warehouse!”<br/>Everyone’s previously happy faces had turned more serious. Player handed me a wrapped box.<br/>“Open it. It’ll make sense once you do.”<br/>Very curious now, I opened the box. Inside was a small red dog vest. I turned it over and read the words out loud.<br/>“Working dog, do not pet. But why…”<br/>I cut myself off as I realised what it meant. Oreo wasn’t just an ordinary dog; he was an emotional support animal. They still wanted me to go to therapy, but since I refused they just got me a dog instead. I started shaking, flashes of Professor Maelstroms ‘therapy’ going through my mind. I felt someone shaking me. It was Ivy, with a concerned look on her face. I regained a sense of my surroundings and realised that Oreo had put his paws on my shoulders. I just hugged him, and I felt tears rolling down my cheeks. I could hear the others talking in the background.<br/>“I thought this may happen, she’s had a similar reaction every time I brought up therapy.”<br/>“I knew we should have waited to tell her, why did we have to bring her up here?”<br/>“I couldn’t just leave him locked in her room, besides don’t just blame me, you all wanted to bring her up here too!”<br/>“Well maybe instead of arguing, we should just talk to Carmen!”<br/>I was surprised at Zack being the voice of reason, but I should have expected it. At this point the whole world is turned upside down, I wouldn’t even be surprised if Tigress strolls in with a cake. Everyone turned their attention back to me, and I can’t take it. For the first time since the rooftop I’ve let all my emotions out. I get up and storm off, with Oreo following behind me. Player goes to run after me, but Ivy puts her hand out.<br/>“Let’s give her some space.”<br/>I go up onto the roof for some air, running up the stairs as fast as I can. I collapse on the floor next to the entrance to the stairwell, with Oreo coming up to snuggle. I hug him tight when I hear footsteps and heavy breathing. Player runs out, frantically shouting.<br/>“Red? Red where are you?”<br/>I don’t move, but I yell back to him.<br/>“Didn’t Ivy tell you to leave me alone?”<br/>He turns to my voice, and calms down significantly.<br/>“That was before I saw you go up to the roof. I’m sorry, I was just worried.”<br/>He sits beside be. Oreo licks his face but then comes back over to me. I stay quiet, patting him while Player talks.<br/>“We didn’t mean to upset you. We really care, and we thought that getting a support animal might help. None of us understand exactly what you’re going through, a dog doesn’t have to. You can just talk to them and they’ll love you anyway.”<br/>He reached over and scratched Oreo’s head. He could sense that we were both sad, so he ran back and forth between us, trying to figure out who to comfort. We moved closer together and he eventually settled in between the two of us. We sat up there for hours, just letting ourselves feel all the emotions we had been keeping inside. Oreo made it his duty to lick our faces clean every time that we cried, making us laugh and give him lots of pats. <br/>“You were right.”<br/>Player looked up, not expecting me to break the silence.<br/>“I shouldn’t have been so harsh on you guys. Oreo has already helped me so much and I’ve only known him for a few hours.”<br/>He shot me a smile and wiped away his tears. I stood up and held out my hand.<br/>“I think I’m ready to go back downstairs, what about you?”<br/>He grabbed my hand and I pulled him up. We headed back downstairs together, Oreo trotting at my heels, everyone looking up when we came in. Ivy came over and gave me a big hug.<br/>“I’m sorry Carm, we didn’t mean to upset you!”<br/>I hugged her back tighter.<br/>“I’m sorry too, I shouldn’t have run off. You were right anyway.”<br/>We pulled apart. Oreo came and jumped up on me and I gave him lots of pats.<br/>“Oreo is amazing. I may not want to go to therapy, but he gives me so much comfort. So, thank you guys.”<br/>Zack spoke to break the tension.<br/>“Well there are still more presents! They were in your room but Oreo kind of distracted us.”<br/>I smiled. We wouldn’t be able to avoid this conversation forever, but a temporary distraction was nice. We went back up to my room and opened the rest of the presents. At Players request I let Oreo open one, which turned out to be a squeaky toy. We all laughed as we threw it around for him. I got everything I would need to take care of a dog, as well as a shirt that said, ‘Dog Mum.’ From Zack and Player’s laughter I assumed it was from them. We went back downstairs and ate some cake. We watched a movie, but none of us were really paying attention. Zack and Ivy were asleep on each other halfway through, with Player and Oreo snuggled up on the other couch. Jules had gone to the bathroom and I decided to head back onto the roof. I sat on the edge, taking in the cool evening breeze. I heard footsteps behind me and then a voice.<br/>“Carmen?”<br/>Jules had come up, presumably looking for me. I motioned for her to come sit down, and she obliged. She didn’t say anything, but I could tell that she wanted to ask a question.<br/>“You know, you can ask me anything that’s on your mind.”<br/>She blushed. She still took a while to answer, as if debating the best way to phrase her question.<br/>“Why are you on the roof?”<br/>I figured that was what was on her mind. I also had to think about my answer.<br/>“I like the view.”<br/>She didn’t really believe me, but didn’t push it further. When she started to shiver from the cold, I scooted closer and wrapped my hoodie around her. We just sat, letting all our unspoken words flow freely. As we were watching the sun go down over the ocean Ivy came bursting out.<br/>“Guys come quick! Shadowsan was here!”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>That is the end of the first arc of the story! I'm definitely continuing this, though I'm not sure if it will be as a second book or just more chapters. I realised that I never posted the letters on here, whereas I did on Wattpad, so people may not know why Shadowsan isn't there.<br/>Heres the link:<br/>https://www.wattpad.com/854123401-carmen-sandiego-au-mini-chapter-the-letters</p><p>As always, let me know what you thought!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0015"><h2>15. Chapter 15 - New Beginnings</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Carmens POV</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>(Carmen POV)<br/>Jules and I raced downstairs, following Ivy. Thinking of my old instructor, my heart raced faster. Sure, I wasn’t dead, but he still left. If the rest of the crew figured out I had been captured, he must have too. If he left because of my note, why would he be back? I added it to the list of things I didn’t know, one that was ever increasing. When I got downstairs, there was no sign of the ninja, other than an envelope Player was holding, and the shocked expressions on everyone’s faces. I tore outside, looking for any sign of his presence, and upon not finding any, returned inside. Wordlessly, Player handed me the paper. I grabbed it, tearing open the seal.<br/>Dear Carmen.<br/>I hope this finds you in good health, both physically and mentally. I see you have gotten out of ACME. I will enclose a drop point for everything that I have acquired from VILE over this last month and a half. We can continue working separately, I will use intel that isn’t on the drive to plan my capers.<br/>-Shadowsan<br/>I stood in place, overwhelmed and confused. So, he had continued stealing while I was… away. I wasn’t surprised, what was he supposed to do? He couldn’t just return to his old life at VILE, especially not after making it his life mission to steal from them. But him taking the time to write and deliver this note? That wasn’t what I expected. I realised that everyone was staring at me, so I thrust the note at the closest person to me. I was too shocked to speak, diving deeper into my thoughts. My head snapped up when I heard who was reading it. I heard the soft voice of Jules, reading the letter to everyone. I started to calm a little, I had gotten used to her voice whenever I had a nightmare, helping me get back to the present. When she had finished, I had to pose a question.<br/>“So, are we going to go?”<br/>Everyone started talking at once, but Ivy was the loudest.<br/>“No way! He left us, he’s part of the reason we’re in this mess! I don’t trust him, so much could have happened in these last few months, what if he got brain wiped by VILE?” <br/>Oreo, previously napping on the couch, woke up and ran over to Ivy, putting his paws up on her. She pat his fur and tried to calm down.<br/>“I’m sorry, I just think it’s a really bad idea.”<br/>We all took our turns to speak. Player wanted to try and convince Shadowsan to re-join the team, Zack agreeing with Ivy and not wanting to go. Jules was hesitant to speak, but after everyone looked at her for an opinion, she said her piece.<br/>“I may not know all the history you have, but if he does have these artefacts like he claims, we need to recover them. Besides, if VILE show up, we will have the full force of ACME to help us. I say we go.”<br/>Her speech was much more commanding than usual, drawing our attention and making us all sit up a little straighter. We were split two to two on the matter. As everyone turned their attentions on me, I wanted to shrink a little.<br/>“I’m not sure what we should do. On one hand, I do want to recover everything. On the other, it is one of my biggest fears that one of you gets captured by VILE. I don’t know what I would do if any of you were turned against me.”<br/>I sigh, sinking onto the couch.<br/>“Look, the drop isn’t happening for another week, I need to think about it first.”<br/>Everyone nodded, and Zack tried to lighten the mood.<br/>“So, Jules, wearing Carm’s jacket I see. Anything you guys want to tell us?”<br/>This caused both Jules and I to flush with embarrassment, only heightened by the others cracking up in the background. </p><p>That night, I fell asleep with Oreo curled up next to me. Jules and Player were on opposite sides of me, with Ivy and Zacks rooms being across the hall. It felt weird to be back in my own room again. The bed itself wasn’t much different, after being raised on the island for most of my life, I had gotten pretty used to hard beds. Sure, the occasional luxury was nice, but this bed helped me sleep the fastest. Tonight however, I was stuck in my own head, memories swarming me. Should I trust him? Should I send in backup, or go alone? Why would he even try to arrange a drop point, if he was just going to show up at red base anyway? When I finally fell asleep, it didn’t last long. I woke up, and went downstairs. I didn’t really know what I was doing, just moving slowly along. Like something else had taken control of my body, I opened a kitchen cabinet. I pulled out a small bottle and opened the lid. Before I even knew what was happening, I had poured all the pills into my mouth. I fell to the floor, feeling peaceful, until I felt something shaking me. <br/>“Carmen, wake up!”<br/>I opened my eyes, and saw Jules there. She had a worried look in her eyes, tears shimmering. I didn’t know what was happening, why wasn’t I in bed? As I sat up, I took in the scene around me. Chairs and tables astray, a broken cup on the ground, and an open cabinet. As I went to get up, Jules pushed me back down.<br/>“Careful, there’s broken glass nearby.”<br/>She carefully got up, sweeping away the wreckage of the cup with a broom. I tried to figure out what happened, but it must have been obvious, because Jules answered for me.<br/>“You were sleepwalking. You weren’t saying anything, but you did try to get something out of the cupboard, resulting in you knocking off the glass.”<br/>I tried to remember what I has dreaming about, but I could only remember fragments. One thought stuck out in my mind.<br/>“Wasn’t this a medicine cabinet before?”<br/> Jules got interrupted by Ivy coming downstairs, followed by Zack and Player.<br/>“Is everyone ok? I heard a crash coming from here.”<br/>I could hear the worry in her voice, and I wished I had an answer. <br/>“It’s ok, Carmen was just sleepwalking.”<br/>Not satisfied with this Ivy started to ask another question, but Zack stopped her.<br/>“It looks like they’ve got this covered. Let’s just go back to bed, we can talk about it in the morning.”<br/>They all trudged back upstairs, Ivy throwing nervous glances back at me. Jules got up and walked over the freezer, pulling out an ice pack and handing it to me. She directed me over to the couch and I sat down.<br/>“You have a nasty bump on your head, you must have hit it while walking.”<br/>I gratefully placed the pack on my head, suddenly aware of the painful throb. As soon as I did, I got hit with the memory of the dream. I tried to hide it, but Jules spotted the brief look of terror on my face.<br/>“What is it? What was the dream?”<br/>I tried deflecting, but she was relentless. I eventually gave up and told her, horror dawning on her face. <br/>“It was just a dream, don’t worry. I’m fine, see?”<br/>This failed to convince her, and she got more and more worried and worked up.<br/>“What if they hadn’t rearranged? What if you had cut yourself when you fell? What if… what if it wasn’t just a dream?”<br/>I let out a small sob at the same time her. I hadn’t realised how much my mental health had affected her. Jules was openly crying now, and I snuggled closer to try and calm her.<br/>“Hey, it’s ok, it was just a dream. I’m here now, I’m safe. It’s ok.”<br/>She turned to me, tear marks streaming down her face. I hugged her tightly, trying to give her the same comfort she gave me so many times.<br/>“Pathetic huh? I’m meant to be comforting you and yet I’m the one in tears.”<br/>I shushed her.<br/>“Everyone has feelings, you shouldn’t be afraid to let them out.”<br/>She gave me a pained smile.<br/>“Maybe you should take your own advice.”<br/>I chuckled softly.<br/>“Maybe.”<br/>We snuggled closer, and fell asleep, and for once I slept soundly.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>So I'm juggling two fics right now, so updates may be slower than before.<br/>Also, how's that for a cliche title?</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0016"><h2>16. Chapter 16 - The Code</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Players POV</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>After going back upstairs I didn’t sleep. I wanted Shadowsan to come back, no doubt about it, but what Ivy had said stuck with me. While I believed that there wasn’t anything going on, if Carmen disappeared again then I don’t think we would be able to take it. I looked at the address listed. If Shadowsan had a key to this apartment, he must have rented it already. I found the address and pulled up security footage from the street and hallways. It had the name listed as Suhara Ochiai, a traditional Japanese last name. What was interesting was the picture of the birth certificate. It seemed real enough, not as good as my regular ones, but good enough. The interesting part was the symbols around the frame. I seemed like it could have been random, just as decoration, but something stuck out to me. I went over to my bookshelf and pulled out a book that Shadowsan had given me. It was on how to decode hieroglyphics, which is what the strange symbols were. I got to work translating, taking me an hour. When I was done, I had finally cracked it.<br/>The young prince became heir to the throne<br/>It wouldn’t seem like much to the ordinary reader, but to me it was confirmation. We had come up with codes, just in case of emergencies. They were different for each of us, but none were as complicated as Shadowsan’s. He had created two codes, one for if he was safe, the other for if he was not. This message meant he was safe, and we could go to get the artefacts. I leaned back in my chair, satisfied. I opened my drawer, and pulled out a piece of machinery from inside. After Carmen had banned me from using the coffee machine downstairs, I had ordered one off Amazon. I plugged it in and made myself an extra strong pot. I was going to be here a while.<br/>The next morning, I waited until everyone was properly awake before I shared my findings. Despite my eagerness to tell everyone, maybe heightened by the coffee, I waited, knowing that if they were awake they might take the news better. Ivy cooked breakfast, rejecting all attempts of help. Julia and Carmen were deep in discussion, looking a little worse for wear after spending all night on the couch. Zack and Ivy had teased them relentlessly, and while I got all the jokes, I had to pretend that I was innocent, sparing me from a lecture from Carmen. My whole job is to go and find VILE chatter, mostly on the dark web. Not really a safe search filter that I could turn on, so I knew all the innuendos. After a lot of blushing, they had gotten up, and gotten into a debate over King Henry.<br/>“He was a murderer! He beheaded his wives!”<br/>I could still hear their debate raging strong.<br/>“That doesn’t mean we should destroy his tomb!”<br/>Zack and Ivy had forced Carmen to watch a bootleg of 6 The Musical last night, and Carmen had gotten very worked up. Julia hadn’t been helped by Zack and Ivy, who were supporting Carmen fully.<br/>“Yeah Jules, he never got justice, we need to get it for all those women!”<br/>Carmen was looking smug at this; Zack had exploited Julia’s one weakness. Justice. Well, looking at how Jules look at Carmen, maybe two weaknesses.<br/>“It’s illegal, you’ll get arrested! Besides, so many people have tried that they’ve locked up the tomb, no-one can get to it anymore.”<br/>Julia knew she messed up when Carmen’s eyes lit up like a kid on Christmas morning.<br/>“Challenge accepted.”<br/>Julia started to protest, but got interrupted by Ivy calling us to breakfast. We all sat down, and Ivy served up 5 plates of bacon and eggs. After digging in, Carmen turned to us, all jokes gone from her face. <br/>“I’ve made my decision. I think that we should go, but have backup with us. Shadowsan probably isn’t going to show, so he should be safe. He technically is still a criminal, even if we got off the hook.”<br/>I quickly swallowed my mouthful of eggs, trying not to choke.<br/>“Speaking of which, I found a hidden message from Shadowsan. I went through the apartment records and I found a fake birth certificate with a coded message on it. I decoded it, and it turned out to be our signal that everything was safe. I think we can trust him.”<br/>We launched into another debate; breakfast forgotten. Eventually, it was majority rules, and the benefits greatly outweighed the risks. I organised transportation, hotels, everything. When I got in contact with the ACME agent that was in charge of the mission, she seemed surprised that I had already done this.<br/>“We normally have Chief or Agent Gouveia handle bookings; didn’t anyone tell you?”<br/>Someone had told me that, but I could get it done faster, cheaper, and somewhere that was near everything we may need. I refrained from telling her that, as I didn’t want to make waves.<br/>“I think someone did, sorry. It just slipped my mind; old habits die hard I guess.”<br/>She seemed to accept this, and looked at the bookings.<br/>“No matter, you’ve already done it. Besides, this is a good spot, maybe you should be in charge of all our bookings anyway.”<br/>Wanting to avoid more possible responsibility, I quickly wrapped up the call. Sure, I didn’t mind doing it for the crew, but for all of ACME? No thanks. Besides, I needed to focus on helping Carmen. We had decided that I was going to stay here, while the crew, Julia, and a small handful of ACME agents would come. Then there was the issue of Oreo. Carmen didn’t want to take him, saying a raid was no place for a big ball of fluff like Oreo. We all wanted him to come, this would probably be a confronting mission, and Carmen would need the support. We eventually settled on Oreo staying in the car with Zack, while Carmen and others went inside. We said goodbye and I got ready for the mission. I sat at my desk and opened my bottom drawer. This was going to be a long day.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Happy Easter everybody!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0017"><h2>17. Chapter 17 - The Plane</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Jules's POV</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>(Jules’s POV)</p><p>We were sitting in our gold-class seats on the plane. Zack and Ivy were looking around, excited, while Carmen was fidgeting, clearly uncomfortable.<br/>“Are you ok Carmen? You seem to be uncomfortable.”<br/>I looked at her, worried. We had decided to bring Oreo with us on the trip, but he had to go down to the bottom of the plane. I wished that we had documentation proving that he was licenced, but he was still a puppy, and technically had a month or so left of training. Now she clung on to a small soft animal, a black sheep. It seemed counterproductive, if VILE island was so traumatizing why would she want something to remind her of her pain? I never questioned it though, always scared to bring up anything that may trigger another attack.<br/>“I’m fine, just used to red-eyes, that’s all”<br/>I could tell she was lying. She always lied, assuring me everything was fine, that she was fine. I knew better, this was the same act she pulled at ACME.<br/>“Carmen, I know you’re lying, please talk to me.”<br/>I pleaded with her, hoping that she would finally give in, talk to us, do something to let us help her. She looked away, clearly wanting to end the conversation. I sighed and went back to my book, keeping an eye on her from my peripherals. She just watched the clouds go by, clutching on to the sheep ever tighter. Zack and Ivy never noticed anything was wrong, ogling over the movie selection.<br/>“Can I get you two anything?”<br/>I looked over at the flight attendant. He was holding out two menus, one of which I took. Carmen never moved from her spot, staring sullenly out the window. After looking through my options, I ordered two chocolate milkshakes, knowing Carmen had a fondness for them. She didn’t way anything, but she perked up a bit at the thought. After we had received them, I shut the dividers, separating us from everyone else. Player had booked us a double room, and even if I knew what he was implying, I was glad for it.<br/>“Carmen we need to talk. You can’t keep avoiding talking about yourself forever.”<br/>She gave a small grunt and turned around, hand reaching for the milkshake. I took it and set it aside, placing it just out of reach.<br/>“You have to talk first. Besides, it’ll make you feel better once you’re done.”<br/>Carmen looked at me shocked. After a few seconds, she let out a hollow laugh, so different from her normal, carefree attitude.<br/>“Blackmail milkshakes huh? Never thought you had it in you.”<br/>She tried to get the milkshake again, but I held it out of reach.<br/>“I’ll talk once I get it.”<br/>I raised an eyebrow, sceptical.<br/>“I promise. Here, take my laptop as proof. I haven’t had chocolate in a while, I’ve been craving it.”<br/>She held out a hand with the laptop, which I took. I handed her the milkshake, and she sighed.<br/>“I’m terrified. Terrified about the mission, terrified about everything I’ve missed, and…”<br/>She trailed off, taking a long drink of milkshake. It was clear this was hard for her, so I waited patiently. After hugging the soft toy harder, she continued.<br/>“Terrified of myself. I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I don’t know how to fix myself. I don’t know how I’m supposed to lead, when everything around me sets me off. I can’t control my emotions, and I’m terrified of lashing out. I don’t know how I’m supposed to live when I always feel like I’m going to die!”<br/>Carmen was sobbing at this point, hugging her knees and trying to make herself as small as possible. I had begun to recognise the signs of a panic attack, and tried to prevent it. I carefully pushed her knees down, wishing Oreo were here. I moved the milkshake out of the way and gave Carmen a hug. I squeezed her, not wanting to let go. She relaxed slightly, but the sobbing got worse. She squeezed back, hugging me like there was no tomorrow. She cried for half an hour before wearing herself out. We finally let go of each other, and she fell back, exhausted. I pushed a button and her seat folded into a bed. I gently placed her down, with her being too tired to protest. She fell asleep quickly, tired from the emotional strain that her sobbing had placed on her. I pulled out the laptop and was putting it back in place, when I heard a ringing. I opened the laptop and noticed how it wasn’t closed properly, meaning it was on the whole time.<br/>“Merde.”<br/>I cursed under my breath, hoping Player hadn’t been on-call this whole time. I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw he was trying to call now. I hesitated before answering, turning the volume low. <br/>“Hey Red, what’s…”<br/>He trailed off as he saw me, instantly concerned.<br/>“Where’s Carmen? Did something happen?”<br/>I made a signal for him to be quiet, and turned the camera to show Carmen, sleeping soundly. I frowned, she was rolling a lot, but I didn’t want to wake her, just in case it was nothing. I turned the camera back around to face me.<br/>“Is anything wrong Player?”<br/>He shook his head, turning to type furiously on his keyboard.<br/>“No, nothings wrong, I was just checking to make sure everything is ok. We normally do a mission debrief on the flight, but if Carmen is asleep…”<br/>I blushed, being reminded once again of how little I knew about Team Red.<br/>“Well Zack and Ivy are still up; we can go over it with them if you want.”<br/>After getting confirmation, I opened up the divider to see the redheads watching a movie. Ivy looked over and smirked.<br/>“So, you two finally decided to do it. Good for you.”<br/>I went bright red at this, only made worse by Players laughter in the background.<br/>“You’re 13, you shouldn’t know what she’s talking about!”<br/>He immediately sat up straight, feigning a look of anger.<br/>“Hey, I’m 16! Besides, I poke around on the dark web all day, what’d you expect?”<br/>My face still red, I decided to get back to the point.<br/>“So, the debriefing?”<br/>We all sat down, focused on the mission. By the time the plane landed, we knew exactly what we were going to do. Now we just had to hope it all went smoothly.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Sorry about less updates than usual, I'm working on another fic on the side and my sleep schedule is broken rn</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0018"><h2>18. Chapter 18 - The Drop Point</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>AN: I changed writing styles since the last time I wrote a chapter (15th of April??!!?) so from now on all the chapters will be in third person! Hope you enjoy!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Once Carmen was woken up and debriefed (with no small amount of teasing) they collected their small amount of luggage as well as Oreo, who managed to knock Carmen to the ground.</p>
<p>“Woah, woah, I missed you too buddy! Calm down and you can have all the pats you want in the car, ok?”</p>
<p>Oreo just yipped and kept licking Carmen’s face. The rest of the team were just laughing at her as she struggled to get up. She kept half-heartedly pushing Oreo off until there was a cough behind them.</p>
<p>“Carmen Sandiego, what is the delay? I don’t know about your team, but ACME likes to run on schedule.”</p>
<p>The dry tones of Agent Zari had Carmen finally push Oreo off and clip his lead onto his collar. Zack and Jules subtly glared at Zari for ruining the moment, Ivy more openly. They all cherished any time Carmen was happy, and to have it interrupted so rudely set them all off. Carmen stopped them from saying anything as she got up to speak.</p>
<p>“My apologies Agent Zari, Oreo hasn’t been away from people for so long before and was a bit eager to see us.”</p>
<p>Zari sniffed and turned away, leading them out of the airport and towards the waiting ACME agents and the vans. Carmen squashed her momentary fear at seeing so many ACME agents-</p>
<p>
  <i>Freeze, get on the ground, good work Argent, betraylbetraylbetraylbetrayl</i>
</p>
<p>-and strode over with purpose. She was an ACME agent, and as such, had nothing to fear. The team followed her, all with their own levels of apprehension. Oreo, sensing the tension, shoved his snout into Carmen’s hand, making her absently move it to scratch behind his ears, helping keep her calm. She nodded to the other agents as Zack got into the drivers’ seat, with Ivy next to him. Jules and Carmen sat in the back of the van, with Oreo sitting between them. They spent the ride mostly in silence, the only noises being Oreo’s excited pants and barks, and the occasional giggle from Carmen, making them all smile.</p>
<p>Once they neared the hotel, the mood shifted. They were going straight to the drop point that Shadowsan had told them about, and everyone was tense. Team Red (including Julia but excluding Zack) were going to be the first in the door, and once it was clear then the artifact extraction team would move in. Carmen took a deep breath, bringing Oreo close, and Julia shot her a look of concern.</p>
<p>“Are you sure you want to do this? There is no shame in backing out, there’s plenty of agents if something does go south.”</p>
<p>Carmen didn’t answer for a few long moments, running her hands through Oreo’s fur.</p>
<p>“I have to do this. Shadowsan shouldn’t even be there, and even if he is, I need to face him.”</p>
<p>Julia nodded, unsatisfied but willing to let it go. The rest of the short drive felt like eternity, right up to Zack’s melancholy “We’re here.”</p>
<p>They got out of the car, offering quiet words of support to Carmen in preparation for what was about to come.</p>
<p>~~&lt;3~~</p>
<p>Shadowsan watched from a nearby rooftop as Carmen and her team entered the room where he had hidden all the spoils of his capers against VILE. He watched carefully as Carmen discovered the coded note he had left for her, and how she shoved it into a pocket with shaking hands. After some quick words he couldn’t make out to her friends, they left, and a team of people in suits took their place. He nodded, satisfied, and left undetected. All he could do now was wait at the next location and hope Carmen came. </p>
<p>~~&lt;3~~</p>
<p>Four people sat at a long table, watching security footage on a large monitor. They watched hungrily as a figure in a red coat and hat showed up for the first time in over a month. As the footage finished and began the loop anew, they all turned to each other. </p>
<p>“So Lambkins finally shows her face. About time too!”</p>
<p>Coach Brunt slammed her fist down on the table, creating a dent. Her co-workers looked on in boredom, pressing the button that told the cleaners they needed a new table. Professors Maelstrom and Bellum pulled a device out from under the table after a glance at each other.</p>
<p>“I dug up this delightful invention of mine a while ago. We used it on Black Sheep when she was still a trainee, and after a few modifications, it should bring her in line. We just need to get her in the facility.”</p>
<p>Countess Cleo sniffed airily, and turned her nose up.</p>
<p>“And just how are we supposed to do that? We have tried and failed many times to apprehend her, but never succeeded. Do you have another plan?”</p>
<p>A heavily accented voice came through the speaker system, making them all turn towards the monitor.</p>
<p>“Oh don’t worry old chaps. I have a plan that will bring Carmen Sandiego right into our clutches.”</p>
<p>The table quieted to listen to the plan, and they were all in agreement by the end. It was time for the lost sheep to make its way back into the herd.</p>
<p>~~&lt;3~~</p>
<p>Two parents and a police officer looked at the footage sent by an anonymous informant. It was security footage placing a missing boy across the world and in San Diego. The officer made a note on his notepad and left to radio the station. This was far out of his jurisdiction and he would be happy to not have to deal with the boy’s parents calling every day. </p>
<p>When he asked about it the next day, he was told that an agent of MI6 had mysteriously taken a special interest in the case, and had guaranteed a safe return of the boy. The officer shrugged and went to his pile of paperwork that had been neglected, putting the whole thing out of his mind.</p>
<p>~~&lt;3~~</p>
<p>Carmen held the decoded note in her hands and made up her mind. Waiting until everyone else was asleep, she slipped out of the window and glided onto the next roof over. Once she was sure she hadn’t been seen, she ran across the rooftops, dreading and looking forward to her meeting at the same time.</p>
<p>~~&lt;3~~</p>
<p>In San Diego, a boy slept peacefully, unaware of the many plots against him. If he had stayed awake, he would have noticed how three separate people had hacked into the security cameras and set them to record his every move.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>So... I'm alive? Sorry for not updating, and this chapter is in no way a promise to update regularly, but I will definitely try! So that anon informer huh? I wonder who it could be?</p>
<p> (Here's a hint, it's not VILE (though Roundabout did jump on the opportunity), but it's not Shadowsan either. Who else could be our mystery informer, ACME, or someone entirely new?)</p>
        </blockquote><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Thanks for reading!<br/>Any feedback is welcome!</p></blockquote></div></div>
</body>
</html>